WWII Cossack Newspapers and Periodicals at CRL

Jon Giullian

Librarian for Slavic and Eurasian Studies, University of Kansas

Masthead of Kazak newspaper, June 28, 1944. From CRL collections.

Caught between two tyrannical 20th-century powers, Russian Cossacks of various
groups found themselves on opposite sides of World War II. CRL’s Slavic and
East European Microform Project recently coordinated the microfilming of a small
collection of Cossack newspapers published during the 1940s. (A few single issues were also digitized and are now available in the CRL catalog). They provide valuable
source material for the study of Cossack involvement (especially on the Nazi side) in
World War II; These titles include:

These newspapers record the pulse of various Cossack groups during
this volatile time period. They breathe Cossack nationalism mixed with varying
amounts of German military victories, Nazi propaganda, and anti-Bolshevik sentiment.
Kazachii vestnik, for example, the organ of the Cossack National Liberation
Movement (Kazach’e natsional’noe osvoboditel’noe dvizhenie) and probably the
most blatantly nationalistic paper in the collection, chronicles many of the party’s
public activities, meetings, resolutions, and other efforts to call their Cossack brothers
to join the Nazis against a common enemy, the Bolsheviks.

While early issues bleed propaganda, as the tide of war turns against Germany in
1944–45, the “progress of the war” is replaced on the paper’s pages with an abundance
of columns exhibiting a calmer Cossack sentiment. These include a bibliography
of Cossack works, historical calendar, and a column dedicated to missing
persons. Letters and testimonials of Bolshevik/Soviet atrocities committed against
Cossacks also continue to appear regularly, but not as aggressively as in the early
years of the war. After the war, Kazachii vestnik resumed publication in Munich in
1951. The focus on Cossack nationalism represents a new stage in the Cossacks’
fight for freedom and political identity. Published in the West, the paper has one
column in English.

The newspapers as a whole add to the textual and visual chronicle of Cossack
involvement in World War II on the German side. Kazachii klich is especially rich in
photographs, artistic decoration, and cartoons. Many of these papers also feature
Cossack verse and song lyrics.

These fascinating titles are sure to draw interest among Slavists and Germanists alike.
Microfilm copies of these newspapers are held by the Center for Research Libraries
and the University of Kansas.

New CRL Newspaper Acquisitions

CRL obtained a set of Xin Wen Bao microfilm from the National Library
of China through the 2011 Shared Purchase Program. Originally operated
jointly by foreigners and local Chinese and published in Shanghai, Xin Wen
Bao was once the most widely distributed newspaper in China. The set covers
the late Qing and the entire Minguo Republic eras, and will make
the current CRL holdings of the newspaper’s back files complete.

The 2011 Shared Purchase Program also helped CRL to purchase the Lyttelton
Times, one of the principal newspapers of New Zealand’s Canterbury
region for 80 years. It was published from 1851 until 1929, when it became
the Christchurch Times until publication ceased in 1935. CRL already holds
LT from 1902 to 1906 and has a very limited representation of other New
Zealand mainstream papers.

The South Asian Microform Project (SAMP) has extended its holdings of
Ceylon Times by acquiring issues from 1924 to 1930. The original Ceylon
Times was founded in 1846 and published until 1874. Restarted in 1882
by the publisher, the Times of Ceylon quickly regained its former prominence,
read by British officials, planters, and merchants as well as the elite of
Ceylon. It was a major vehicle for international, local, and business information
for the nation of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). CRL and SAMP continue to
acquire reels to complete this collection, which currently spans 1863–74,
1901–30, 1941–54, and 1967–75. CRL obtained the 1941–54 reels through
the 2008 Shared Purchase Program, with assistance from the University of
Chicago and Columbia University. SAMP hopes to acquire Ceylon Times
issues from the 1930s as funding permits.

The Cooperative African Materials Project (CAMP) microfilmed a set of
Zimbabwean newspapers collected by the Library of Congress office in
Nairobi, including The Worker, Zimbabwe Standard, Business Tribune, City
Observer, and others. CAMP is also microfilming a set of newspapers from
Cameroon and has finished 16 titles ranging from 1997 to 2007, including
Ouest Echos (Sept. 1997–Dec. 2005).